New Flight Test Instrumentation Equipment for F-35 Technology Refresh Program

Curtiss-Wright Corporation has been awarded a $24 million contract from Nellis Air Force Base to provide Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI) equipment in support of the F-35 Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) program. 

Technology Refresh 3 represents a series of critical upgrades to the F-35′s hardware and software meant to improve its displays, memory and computer processing capability and support future modernization capabilities.

Over the past three years, Curtiss-Wright has worked closely with US Flight Test Ranges, including Nellis AFB and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, as well as the F 35 Joint Program Office, to define and architect the Distributed Flight Test Instrumentation (DFTI) system that enables the test and evaluation of F-35 TR-3 configured aircraft. 

The company’s FTI technology forms part of the DFTI system, where products and subsystems that enable the acquisition, collation, processing, recording, and telemetry of flight test data support the seamless transport of that data. Because it is networked, DFTI enables the distribution of flight test instrumentation equipment closer to the measured parameters, resulting in increased test accuracy.

“We are proud to have been selected by Nellis Air Force Base to provide our aerospace instrumentation technology for use on critical flight tests of the F-35 TR-3 program,” said Lynn M. Bamford, Chair and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. “The receipt of this contract reflects our long-standing relationships and ongoing collaboration with the F-35 Joint Program Office and US Flight Test Range engineers and personnel, and demonstrates the trust and confidence that customers place in Curtiss-Wright’s advanced and reliable integrated high-speed flight test instrumentation systems.”

Since 1998, Curtiss-Wright has successfully supported Nellis AFB with FTI solutions that meet the highest standards. As a total systems provider for FTI, Curtiss-Wright provides products and services that collect, collate, process, record, transmit via RF links, and analyze and display flight test data. 

Curtiss-Wright is performing the work at its TTC facility in Newtown, Pa., within its Defense Solutions division in the Defense Electronics segment.